Phylogenetic analyses of Reticulitermes (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) from California and other western states: multiple genes confirm undescribed species identified by cuticular hydrocarbons.

Subterranean termites in the genus Reticulitermes Holmgren 1913 are among the most economically important wood-destroying pests in the western United States. Yet, there remains uncertainty regarding the taxonomy and biology of the species in this genus. The 2 species described as having distributions in this region are the western subterranean termite, Reticulitermes hesperus Banks, and the arid land subterranean termite, Reticulitermes tibialis Banks.

Consistency of Cuticular Hydrocarbon Mixtures of Five Reticulitermes (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) Taxa From Northern California: Similarity Among Colonies and Seasonal Variation.

Cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) mixtures from workers of five distinct CHC phenotypes of Reticulitermes Holmgren 1913 from two locations in northern California were examined from monthly collections taken over a 3-yr period. The objectives of this study were (1) to identify and quantify variations of the CHCs of multiple colonies of each of these phenotypes (= species or subspecies) to demonstrate consistency, (2) to assess the potential of CHC mixtures to separate or identify colonies within each phenotype, and (3) to detect any temporal changes in each of the hydrocarbons in the CHC mixtures. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling of all CHC mixtures of all samples collected at both locations separated the samples into five clearly visible, different groups of CHC phenotypes (taxa or species) of Reticulitermes.

Trapping Failure Leads to Discovery of Potent Semiochemical Repellent for the Walnut Twig Beetle.

The walnut twig beetle, Pityophthorus juglandis Blackman, and its associated fungal pathogen that causes thousand cankers disease, currently threaten the viability of walnut trees across much of North America. During a 2011 assessment of seasonal flight patterns of P. juglandis with yellow sticky traps baited with the male-produced aggregation pheromone component, 3-methyl-2-buten-1-ol, dramatically reduced catches were recorded when Tree Tanglefoot adhesive was used to coat the traps.

Comparative morphometric and chemical analyses of phenotypes of two invasive ambrosia beetles (Euwallacea spp.) in the United States.

The polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB), Euwallacea sp., was first detected in 2003 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. Recently, this invasive species has become a major pest of many hardwood trees in urban and wildland forests throughout southern California.

Quantitative changes in hydrocarbons over time in fecal pellets of Incisitermes minor may predict whether colonies are alive or dead.

Hydrocarbon mixtures extracted from fecal pellets of drywood termites are species-specific and can be characterized to identify the termites responsible for damage, even when termites are no longer present or are unable to be recovered easily. In structures infested by drywood termites, it is common to find fecal pellets, but difficult to sample termites from the wood. When fecal pellets appear after remedial treatment of a structure, it is difficult to determine whether this indicates that termites in the structure are still alive and active or not.

Response of Reticulitermes hesperus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) colonies to baiting with lufenuron in northern California.

The objective of this study was to evaluate lufenuron termite bait (1,500 ppm) for the elimination of colonies of Reticulitermes hesperus Banks (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). Dispersion of colonies in six baited and six unbaited sites near Placerville, CA, was determined by genetic (microsatellite) analyses. Twenty-one colonies of R.

Efficacy of verbenone for protecting ponderosa pine stands from western pine beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) attack in California.

The western pine beetle, Dendroctonus brevicomis LeConte (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), is a major cause of ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws., mortality in much of western North America.

Cuticular hydrocarbons and soldier defense secretions of Reticulitermes in southern California: a critical analysis of the taxonomy of the genus in North America.

Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC) and soldier defense secretions (SDS) were characterized for collections of Reticulitermes from six counties (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Santa Barbara) in southern California. Collection sites included the type locality for R. hesperus, Lake Arrowhead (formerly known as Little Bear Lake) in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Identification of termite species by the hydrocarbons in their feces.

Blends of abundant cuticular hydrocarbons are species-specific for termites (Isoptera) and can be used to identify a given taxon without the diagnostic castes, soldiers or adults. We demonstrate that hydrocarbon extracts of termite fecal pellets from damaged wood can also be characterized and used to identify termites responsible for damage, even though termites are no longer present or easily recovered. In structures infested by drywood termites, it is common to find fecal pellets, but difficult to extract termites from the finished wood in service.

Phylogenetic analyses of mtDNA sequences corroborate taxonomic designations based on cuticular hydrocarbons in subterranean termites.

Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are valuable characters for the analysis of cryptic insect species with few discernible morphological characters. Yet, their use in insect systematics, specifically in subterranean termites in the genus Reticulitermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), remains controversial. In this paper, we show that taxonomic designations in Reticulitermes from California (USA) suggested in light of differences among CHC phenotypes are corroborated by phylogenetic analyses using mtDNA sequences.

Cuticular hydrocarbons suggest three lineages in Reticulitermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) from North America.

Cuticular hydrocarbon mixtures can be used to discriminate insect taxa. They have utility for determining phylogenetic relationships where they are independent characters with discrete states and represent a hierarchical distribution of shared, derived characters. We report inferred degrees of relatedness among the chemical phenotypes of Reticulitermes from PAUP (phylogenetic analysis using parsimony) analyses of cuticular hydrocarbon characters.